NURTW urges sacking of troublemakers

The National Union of Road Transport Workers, Ogun State council, has urged Governor Ibikunle Amosun to flush out illegal members from motor parks in the state.The union, in a petition signed by a member, state caretaker committee, Alhaji Yusuph Bamgbola, said the illegal members were the ones causing mayhem in the parks.The union added that the perpetrators of various crimes in different motor parks always boasted they had those in government on their side.NURTW said, Those who have illegally invaded motor parks are boasting of having the directives and support of some government functionaries. We have yet to believe them.We appeal to His Excellency to draw the attention of government functionaries to the fact that item 34 of Part 1 of the Second Schedule of the 1999 Constitution puts labour, including unions, in the exclusive legislative list and therefore disposes the state governments of any power on trade union matters, other than in the course of negotiations for members welfare in its employ.Furthermore, the scope of duties of NURTW is enshrined in Trade Union Amendment Act No. 2 and has been confirmed and emphasised in judgement delivered by Justice H.T. Soba of the Federal High Court, Ibadan.It praised the governor for declaring war on thuggery and hooliganism, saying the Truth and Justice Commission set up by the administration bore testimony to its hatred for violence, arson, extra-judicial killings and lawlessness.The union further stated that the legal way for someone to become an officer of the union was not through physical strength, bearing of arms and illegal invasion of motor parks, but through a secret ballot as enshrined in Article 8.Besides, it is mandatory for aspiring officer to be a card-carrying financial member, who has served the union for at least two years before elections and has regularly paid his dues, it stated.It said an eight-man caretaker committee had been set up to control the affairs of the union in the state, stressing that no other person or group had the rights to sell unions tickets or dissolve existing branches that paid for elections in 2007.The petition was copied to the state Commissioner of Police; Speaker of the state House of Assembly; Commissioner for Justice and Director of State Security Service among others.
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